The 'Empire' producer and filmmaker also reveals more about his wilder past with drugs and drinking.

Lee Daniels has always given frank and thought-provoking interviews and that trend continues after a recent sit-down. As told during the chat with New York Magazine’s Vulture site, the Empire creator and filmmaker spoke briefly on the Jussie Smollett matter.

From Vulture:

The reporting that’s emerged about the Jussie Smollett case suggests that he faked a racist, homophobic mugging in order to get paid more money on Empire. You initially publicly supported his story.The day of the supposed attack, Daniels posted an Instagram video, saying, “You didn’t deserve … to have a noose put around your neck, to have bleach thrown on you, to be called ‘die fucking n*gger’ or whatever they said to you.” Are you embarrassed?

I’m beyond embarrassed. I think that when it happened, I had a flash of me running from bullies. I had a flash of my whole life, of my childhood, my youth, getting beaten.

Knowing Jussie, would you have suspected this from him, or did this come out of the blue?

Blue. Blue.

It’s got to feel like a huge betrayal.

If it turned out that he did it, was guilty, and all of it’s accurate.

Daniels also speaks on fatherhood, his former drug and alcohol abuse, and much more. Read the entire piece from Vulturehere.